Arkansas with Leslie & Shirley

Highway 9 in North Central Arkansas

Returning to North Central Arkansas, we planned to leave early enough to stop in at Grand Gulf State Park and Mammoth Springs State Park along the way. The early departure was easy enough, but it was around 11 am by the time we reached Springfield. It was a cold and windy day, and it would likely be 2 pm before we reached those stops. That really did not leave much time for the parks, as well as reach our final destination before dark, which was another 2 hours from there. It was deer season after all, and those pesky critters would be lurking along the roadside looking to pounce on any unsuspecting traveler. Since there was no hurry on the way home, and the forecast for our return trip looked to be a bit sunnier and warmer, we decided to postpone that diversion until then.

Bonniebrooke signage

We did make a few random stops along the way though. Nearly every trip south we note a faded billboard near Walnut Shade pointing the way to the “Home of the Kewpies,” and wonder about it. With nothing but time on our hands this particular Saturday afternoon, we decided to make a detour and check into the situation. Our timing could not have been better. After winding our way up the hill and into the empty parking lot, we discovered the place was closed for the season.

Mural in Historic Leslie, Arkansas

Seeking another minor diversion along the route, we stopped in on the little town Leslie. This is another spot we have noted a couple of times, based on signage indicating indicate that “Historic Downtown Leslie” is quite a happening spot. Set back from the main road a few hundred yards, it is mostly a collection of buildings from around the turn the 19th century housing little or nothing but antique shops. That seems to be pretty typcial for a lot of small towns these days. There seems to be signs everywhere to visit one historic downtown or another, and they all seem to end up lacking any sort of recognizable history. There were a few interesting architectural items here though, but clouds deterred any true photographic exploration of the scene, so we hit the road again, to make our destination prior to sunset.

The Little Red River near Heber Springs, Arkansas

This particular visit to Heber Springs did not offer much opportunity to explore. While it was a 5-day adventure, two of those were devoted to driving and one to getting a little work done. We did manage to squeeze in day trip back to Gunner Pool for a closer look around, and making our way back to base that same day, dropped in on the Turkey Creek Schoolhouse. I had discovered it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places while doing a bit of research earlier in the month, along with a several other points of interest, providing me quite a catalog of spots to investigate in the future. There was one other on that route too, but we must have missed it.

River Road near Shirley, Arkansas

Along the route, there were a few other oddities, as well. Eventually we ended up in Shirley, so dropped in on the old Missouri & North Arkansas railroad bridge that crosses the Little Red River. We crossed the old rickety thing and followed the road for about 10 miles or so, just to see what we could see. The old rail bed offered nothing more than a flat gravel road though, but that was good enough at the time. The only other day we had, we spent at the shooting range.

Woods Fork

Waiting to visit the two State Parks on the return trip turned out to be a poor decision. Thunderstorms rolling through the area put a stop to those plans. Indeed, severe weather was everywhere the day we returned. It did break momentarily, just about the time we were passing through the Branson area, so we stopped at one the last places available on the route to get out and get some air and enjoy the forest. A couple of riders on horseback provided some comedy relief there, but inevitably, the rain returned and chased us from there too.

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Further Reading

School at Turkey Creek

A neatly preserved piece of Arkansas educational history

Quiet Gunner Pool

A beautiful little space for a Confederate storage depot

Busiek at Woods Fork

A quick and quiet spot along the US-65 route

Busiek at Woods Fork

Walking Bridge crossing Woods Fork

Tucked just off US-65 between Branson and Springfield, is a great little spot to get out and walk around for a minute, if you need a break from the road. There is actually quite a bit more to do there than that, but we only have ever had time for that. Looking a little closer on our last visit, we should probably plan to make some time for the space in the near future.

Woods Fork

Named in honor of locals, Dr. Urban and Marie Busiek, and originally purchased from their son in 1981, the 2,502-acre Conversation Area hosts a fantastic forest full of woodlands, glades, and old farm fields. Camp Creek and Woods Fork cut through this section of land that provides 18 miles of trails for hikers and horseback riders. Primitive camping is also available by permit only, and a shooting range is also available. While the streams are insufficient for fishing anything more than minnows and tadpoles, hunting is available for all game in season.

Horses crossing Woods Fork

This last pass through, we wandered a little along the trail along Woods Fork, and explored the creek bed near the bridge mostly. It had been raining all day, and threatened more, so we did not want to get too involved. Indeed, it started up again, forcing a return to the dry safety of our car. While we were there though, we had the opportunity to see a couple passing through on horseback. It was amusing watching them try to keep control of the younger of the two, as the horse was more interested in playing in the water. After they passed through the creek bed, the horse turned back, in spite of protests by the rider, and began to splash about. The rider finally convinced the horse to return to the trail, but not before pressing the issue one last time.

Missouri Department of Conversation Map of Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area - Nov 2015

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Further Reading

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area - Missouri Department of Conservation

Gunner Pool Recreation Area Late Fall Visit

North of the little town of Fifty-Six, tucked along the crossroads of Gunner Creek and North Sylamore Creek, in the Ozark National Forest lies an quiet little spot likely known only to locals.

There is nothing particularly significant about Gunner Pool Recreation Area, on first glance. Leaving the blacktop and traversing 5 kilometres of well-maintained gravel road, leads to a typical northern Arkansas creek, bluffs stoically guarding a wide bed of smooth, round pebbles generally larger than an inch in diameter. Clear and cold water streaming through provides home to various forms of wildlife.

The site was originally a munitions manufacturing and storage depot for the Confederacy, feeding the rebel cause throughout north central Arkansas with much needed gunpowder . Also known as Camp Hedges, from 1933 to 1942 it hosted base camp for approximately 2,200 Civilian Conservation Corps. They worked on several projects throughout the Sylamore National Forest, including the stone dam that holds back Gunner Pool, similar to that for Mirror Lake.

The bluff line is a bit more interesting than most, and is an excellent example of the crossroads of geology this little area straddles. East of a WPA-era Baltimore deck truss bridge spanning North Sylamore Creek, a massive bulge of rock tops off what is a decidedly different formation. This is a beautifully exposed contact between St Peter Sandstone and Everton Formation, both dominant throughout northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri. The top most layer bulges appears to bulge out since the each of the two formations weather at quite different rates. In one spot the St Peter Sandstone has collapsed from lack of support from the underlying layer, but it is generally stable and not likely to suddenly and unexpectedly collapse; that is, at least not today.

The area to the west of the bridge hosts the “pool.” I am not quite sure how deep it is, but it is probably not advisable to go swimming around in it. There are signs indicating as much too. The sides are steep and there is no means of escape, except to swim down to the dam; then, there is the risk of slipping over the top and falling 20 feet to the shallow and rocky pool below. It is probably better to spend your time splashing around and wading through the little pools below the dam in North Sylamore Creek as most folks seem content to do on a hot summer day. I did not get involved in that on this particular visit. While it was a beautifully sunny day, temperatures were in the 20s C, and not very conducive that sort of activity.

The area hosts a couple of picnic areas and nicely shaded but somewhat primitive campground. There are also a couple of hike-in sites available, but for the entire place the only available facilities appeared to be outhouses. I had no need, so did not inspect. The North Sylamore Creek Hiking Trail passes through the area, and there is immediate hunting access to the Sylamore Wildlife Management Area; whitetail deer, wild turkey, black bear, squirrel and whatever happens to be in season are readily accessible.

Gunner Pool Recreation Area is an awesome little spot, off the beaten path. There is a little spot in Fifty-Six to get a few supplies. Blanchard Springs Caverns is only 11 km down the road, if you need an afternoon diversion in the coolness of the caves. The White River is only 18 km down the road, or if you prefer, about 16 km to paddle there by way of North Sylamore Creek, which meets up with the White River.

US Forest Service Map of Gunner Pool Recreation Area

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further reading

Gunner Pool Recreation Area

National Forest Service

Turkey Creek Schoolhouse

If one knows where to look, all sorts of historical remnants linger about the back roads of Arkansas, all sorts of history abound. This particular spot lay south along AR-9 out of Mountain View, hidden in plain sight.

Built in 1925 by Robert Dawkins and George Green on donated land, the Turkey Creek Schoolhouse is an unassuming structure, similar to just about any other rural schoolhouse one might imagine. As with just about any old structure in Arkansas, a stone foundation supports a single-story wood frame structure with clapboard siding. A sheet metal gabled roof tops the building that also has front entrances and a row of five windows on each side of the building. A dilapidated well sits out front too, and small outhouses suffering the same neglected, tucked away to the north of the building.

A peek inside finds a space frozen in time. White painted walls and ceilings amplified the light streaming in from the windows. Several rows of benches bordered the room, surrounding a few desks huddled in the center of the room behind a rusty potbelly stove. The front of the room is filled by a standard chalkboard with a seemingly abandoned music lesson.

It was only used a school until 1949 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, along with the State register. I have yet to find a reason beyond it being a 60-year-old building at the time. Used primarily for various community activities these days, it remains in good shape, and a good example of the types of schools that peppered rural Arkansas and the Midwest during that time.

A few locals still reminisce on their school days there, as evidenced in the YouTube video, filmed by local youths in 2012. Sponsored by the Rural Community Alliance, in an effort to preserve local history, it is an interesting and amusing little sit down on the steps with a few former students and their teacher, Mrs. Elsie Compton, age 101.

Mapping Arkansas Waterfalls

I took a bit of a break from things this week to spend a little time cataloging some waterfall data derived from location visits, Panoramio, and coordinates found in the book by Tim Ernst book, “Arkansas Waterfalls, 2nd Edition.” The result of this effort is an awesome little online map that can be saved offline for reference in the field. It will be a huge help in future exploration efforts.

The Google product, MyMaps made the process rather simple, enabling sharing with anyone, and the offline access. Accessing the map, one can zoom in so the points are not all bunched on top of each other, and click individual points to get more information on the waterfall associated with the point.

The process is rather simple. The data will need to be in one of four file formats (CSV, XLSX, KML, GPX). After compiling all of the information, it only requires a quick upload. One or more of the columns needs to contain GPS coordinates or a City/State combination; all of that can be in separate columns, if that is one’s preference.

Accessing Google MyMaps, select to “Create a New Map.” In the display that follows, simply choose to import from the dialog box on the left.

Once the data loads, the process will request which columns define the location of the place marks for the map, and which column to use for titling the markers.

After assigning those, the map displays all of the points, and options come available to improve appearance. That which will make the most impact is “Style,” which refers to how the points display. For this particular map, the GPS Rating column was chosen, so one could quickly identify which falls were going to be the most difficult to locate on the ground.

Other options related to Style are also available, including ranges, categorization, or each point with its own individual style. If a different marker is desired, just hover over one of the categories or ranges, and a little paint bucket appears. Click on it and choose a different color, shape, icon, or upload your own marker.

Several other options within this overall dialog help refine the appearance too. Click the title to personalize it with a specific name and description. The three vertical dots next to the Map Title (in this case, Arkansas Waterfalls by GPS) provide the ability to copy the map, set the default view (extent), print the map, embed it on a web site, or export it to KML. You can also create multiple layers of data, as well as share it with others for viewing only or collaboration.

The three vertical dots next to the Layer Title (in this case, GPS Rating) enables renaming or deletion of the layer, or one can open the data table associated with the layer and work on the data from that angle as one would with basic spreadsheet functions.

Overall, this was a fun little test project that should make it much easier to get to this information while I am out on the road, especially since the recent integration with Google Maps. To accomplish that you will need to save the map, then simply launch Google Maps and navigate to your save maps. The map then overlays Google Maps with all of the functionality.

Access a live version of this map and try it out for yourself!

Parade Directions Fail

As a cartographer and geographer, nothing is more irritating than bad directions. They confuse people and create unnecessary chaos. The problem is compounded when these directions come from a “Trusted News Source.” I suppose the only thing that could be more annoying would be someone attempting to justify, or argue in favor of the bad directions.

After the Kansas City Royals won the World Series, a parade was in order to celebrate the momentous occasion. Everyone wanted to be The New Source for the parade information online, and everyone seemed to get it right, except for KMBC; not only did they get it wrong, but when several of us notified them of the inaccurate directions, they refused to correct it. Additionally, there were those on their comment forum attempting to argue the accuracy of the directions originally provided by KMBC as well. I am still not quite sure what to think of that. One individual asked, “What does it matter?” It matters a lot to those that are not from Kansas City, or know nothing about the layout of the downtown streets. Providing good advice is better than arguing though, so I suggested they take a look at a map.

See if you can follow the directions, as posted on the KMBC web site.

Here’s the starting point… 39.097790, -94.581003

The parade will start at Noon on Grand Boulevard between the Sprint Center and Power & Light District.

From there it will head north on 9th Street before turning east on Oak, south to Truman, then west back to Grand.

The parade will then head south on Grand to Pershing Road and head west.

The parade will end in front of Union Station where a victory rally will begin at approximately 2 p.m.

If you are not familiar with Kansas City, or are admittedly directionally challenged, here are a few notes about what went wrong.

You cannot travel North on 9th Street from the Sprint Center. It is five blocks away! Is the parade going to teleport there?

You cannot turn East on Oak. That street runs North/South; that is, unless they are only crossing the street, then by all means, go right ahead. Although, you are going to have some trouble getting to Truman Road, turning East on Oak.

Data Restructuring and a New Framework - Restoring a County GIS (Part 5)

Data was the biggest issue needing addressed within the County GIS, as I am sure it is in most places; more especially at the County and small municipal level. In short, it was a disaster. Data was inconsistent, without structure, had no restraints to ensure integrity. There was no architecture. There was no maintenance or adherence to best practices associated with maintaining a geo-database, or any sort of database really.

The extent of the damage necessitated quite a bit of rebuilding and will need discussed through multiple postings. Irritated by the revolving door associated with GIS positions at the County, that is where the inconsistency began. The recent departure of the previous GIS Manager and GIS Coordinator at approximately the same time compounded the problem, along with generally uncaring and incompetent GIS analysts. One of the stories told to me, was of a previous GIS analyst simply guessing the location to draw new parcels. This individual manually drew parcels on top of parcels, vaguely resembling the original survey drawing, and only generally in the correct area. He got it in the right County, at least.

Defining a framework was the first order of business. ArcGIS was the platform, the architectural choice rather simple. I was already familiar with the title by Nancy von Meyer, “GIS and Land Records: The Parcel Data Model.” It was the first book purchase I made after accepting the position. I did not have any experience with Land records outside of academia, but was very interested in the topic, and that book turned out to be the perfect starting point. Indeed, it referenced the ArcGIS Land Parcel Data Model, which I quickly located on the Library of Libraries, the Internet. With a plotter at my disposal, I printed a gigantic poster of the model for further study.

Upstairs at home with a whiteboard, the poster, and a lot of spare time in the evenings, I examined this poster in detail and made extensive notes. It was not the most efficient structure or architecture, but that was easily remedied, drawing on prior experience managing data structures. The main thing that I found so astonishing was that the model recommended defining nearly every data type as a string. Why would anyone in his or her right Database Administrator mind do that, except when necessary?

After I worked everything out on paper, I set about defining the first task. Each of the layers recommended required a definitive framework from which to base any sort of delineation, and that framework required control points to justify and maintain its position and integrity. The Office of the Recorder had all of the records related to Land Corner surveys, but a solid reference would be needed to ensure horizontal and vertical accuracy. Accessing the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS), I acquired the most recent Ground Control Points layer, a recently published layer for the Public Land Survey (PLSS), and was ready to begin creating new GIS data.

There was no need to change anything in the Ground Control Points layer, so it was imported to the database as is. The Land Corners layer was another story. The documents at the Office of the Recorder provided most of the information needed to accurately locate each of the Land Corners; although not all. The State of Missouri had been promoting restoration and location of Land Corners for a few years, and some of them contained true GPS coordinates. Those restoration and re-establishments done prior to 2000 rarely had them though, but did contain enough information to plot them with relative accuracy. The older documents were no help at all though, as they relied on measurements from odd little landmarks like bushes and trees.

The final structure of the Land Corners layer for the Geodatabase was relatively simple and contained seven essential fields for each record, and customized to ensure minimal space usage in the database. CORNERTYPE uses a numeric value and a Coded Value Domain (i.e., a Lookup Table) to restrict the naming possibilities and ensure continued integrity; as well, requiring uniqueness in some cases, and not permitting <NULL>. Most other fields for this feature are numeric too; even that for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) Document Number. It is only a number after all. There are only two text fields (CORNERINDEX and CORNERNAME) in this layer, since the data would be a mix of alphanumeric characters derived from the Corner Master Index Grid diagram (left). These fields were limited to the number of characters permitted though. More information about the file layout is in the Metadata. That was the final touch, to begin documentation on all of this new and improved data and using Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata as outlined by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. The final resting place for the feature would be within a Feature Dataset dedicated to Public Land Survey System data only and updated only when provided new information from MoDNR or associated filings by surveyors at the Office of the Recorder.

After creating the new feature, the only thing left to do was add the points through ArcGIS Map, using the data provided on the MoDNR document. This enabled me to move to the next phase of correcting the PLSS downloaded from MSDIS; that is for another post though.

Below are links to access the two new features created out of this process; the beginning points, as it were.

Ground Control Points Feature (KML)

- Info Sheet for Ground Control Points Metadata

Land Corners Feature (KML)

- Info sheet for Land Corners Metadata

Coming next in the series … more data restructuring and implementation related to the Public Land Survey System.

A Silver Focus

And so begins the saga of the 2015 Ford Focus SE, replacing the Escape. I had been mulling over trading down anyway, as the latter was a bit more than I really needed, was not very good on gas mileage, and of course, the previously documented issues. The dealer and the discounts made it an attractive deal that really did not cost either of us. They will likely flip it for more than they gave me for it, but I came out on top too.

We tend to drive some rather great distances at times, and the gas mileage will definitely be worth it just for the daily commute alone. That was primary purpose anyway. With everything that comes standard, there was not much more that I really needed. The only option it has is Cold Weather Package. I did not even really need that. I could have bought a white model that had nothing, but thought my hands and my bottom might enjoy this feature during winter. I also decided to go with a manual transmission; partly because small cars are better that way, and partly because of the multitude of horror stories that I had read about the automatic. The dealer even suggested we would probably not be happy with an automatic.

2015 Ford Focus SE sticker A lot of thought went into deciding to just stay with Ford, and the model itself. I considered a used Impreza or Jetta initially, but the thought of a used car without a warranty was not convincing enough. It was going to cost the same in the long run; perhaps less in the really long term. Time will tell. That is what this post is all about; documenting the life of this vehicle.

After resolving to stay with Ford, I tried out a Fiesta, which is a a fun little car. I needed just a bit more space than that though, and it was like riding in a personal rocket ship. That never ends well for me. I also tested out the 3-cylindar Focus 1.0L with Ecoboost. It was just about a gutless machine. There is a night and day difference between it and the 2.0L and I really was not fond of the idea of the 1.0 turning itself off when it felt appropriate to do so. I still want a little bit more control of that.

A silver 2015 Ford Focus SE with 2.0L I4 GDI Engine and 5-Speed manual transmission was my final choice, it is a nice little ride. It is ergonomic to an extreme. One friend told me the drivers seat was like being in a little personal submarine. Everything is at your fingertips and seemingly in the perfect place, even for someone at our height of 6 ft.

There was only one defect that nobody noticed until we went to pick it up. There was a dent above the driver side front wheel. The dealer said he could have it fixed easy enough. We scheduled a time to go in on Thursday and it only took 15 minutes. The dent remover was a little concerned it might break the paint at first, but with assurances from the dealer that they would fix that too, he went ahead and it all worked out. I still took a photo of it, just in case the paint fails there in the future.

After driving it for a week, there only are few things of note at this time. It sounds kind of funny when it starts, growls a little, but quickly smooths out. The hill-assist is going to take some getting used to. It acts like a break, when taking off from a stop on a hill. Taking off on freshly wet city streets was a little slippery one day, and I heard the traction control doing its thing. The only thing I really hate, that I can do nothing about, is the method for raising and lowering the seat. The last car was the same, so I guess I can put up with it, but how did that get through design? Surely,something more air pressure or hydraulic could have been devised. I have a hydraulic floor jack in the garage that works better than that hand crank system.

It is a good car though, and well worth it. Averaging about 30 mpg thus far, and looking forward to taking it out and stretching its legs a bit soon. Still need to get the front end bra to protect it on those journeys through the bug fields of south Missouri and Arkansas, as well as a roof rack to transport the kayaks. Looking forward to getting some good use of this vehicle and writing more milestones.

No Fishing, Just Hiking

The Volunteer Trail towards Steele Falls

Steele Falls to Blanchard Springs by way of Gunner Pool

Our mission for the day was Steele Falls, just north of Mountain View and Blanchard Springs, in the Ozark-St Francis National Forest. Based on what we had already witnessed, it was likely to be dry as well, but we forged ahead anyway. It was only an hour north from our location, and there were other interesting things to investigate if that did not work out.

We were out relatively early and on location by late morning. It had not been difficult to find. We had a book with the coordinates in it, along with fairly specific directions on locating the falls. It was not quite as clearly marked as anticipated, but there were not as many turn offs to choose from on the 5 miles of gravel wash board we traversed to find it; indeed, the one or two choices we encountered were pretty obvious.

The hike down into the hollow was not very difficult either, as the book promised. It was not quite as “pleasant” as the book outlined though; that is, unless you discount the gnats, chiggers, horseflies and mosquitos that pestered us at every opportunity. The best thing one could do was to keep moving and hope for the best. Another obstacle, which my good friend Harley was good enough to let me block, was the spider webs. They were everywhere, and after the short mile-long hike down to the bed of the creek, I felt as though I was crawling with the little monsters.

Blue Morpho Butterflies

We lingered at the junction of the trail and the bed of the creek for a bit, debating whether to pursue the current course of action or not. We hiked in about 20 yards or so. The book indicated that we should follow a Volunteer path that followed the creek, and that seemed easy enough; assuming the bed of the creek was the path. There were downed limbs everywhere though, and more spider webs, worse than during the trip down. The dry creek did not look promising either. After a bit of discussion, we decided to wait for another time later in the fall. We had other options anyway, and began the trek back to the car, pausing long enough to marvel at a cluster of Blue Morphos butterflies that had come all the way up from Peru to observe our struggle.

North Sylamore Creek at Gunner Pool Recreation Area

Winding our way back to the Gunner Pool Road, we decided to drop its namesake. I had always seen the sign, but had never bothered to stop in. What a surprise! A perfect little camping area alongside a shallow and clear creek trickled through. After wearing our shoes down on the hike, we decided it was a good time to kick them off and wade it. The water was cool and refreshing, but the bottom covered with smooth round stones was not quite as comfortable as it appeared; additionally, the safety of the large fallen rocks on the edge was an illusion. My first attempt to secure footing on them proved almost fatal for the camera. Covered with a slick glaze of moss, I slipped and stumbled, then quickly retreated to the sure footing of the not-so-comfortable pebble bed of the creek.

We lingered only a short while before heading over to Blanchard Springs, stopping in at the Visitor Center long enough to find a line for the cave tours stretched out to the doors. We waited for a few minutes and then decided to come back. We could waste a little time at Mirror Lake and let the crowd die off a little. There were people everywhere there too though; at least, on the trail leading to the outpouring from the caverns.

Halfway up the dry falls at Blanchard Springs

Determined to explore less populated opportunities, we started to turn around and noticed the flow of water that comes in from the other side was non-existent. Wandering between the huge boulders, looking for a good shot up the dry falls, I soon found myself halfway up. A few other folks were working their way up, and it looked easy enough, so I decided to forge ahead; behind me, Harley mumbled something about being surprised that I had him climbing a rockslide. There was no sympathy. He had been warned about this. We made it nearly to the top with very little effort, and captured some interesting photos along the way, but stopped when those that had gone before us mentioned a snake lurking nearby. We obtained directions on how best to avoid the legless beast, and quickly passed without incident.

Stone Dam holding back Mirror Lake

The trail back down was the path of choice for a leisurely stroll back to the parking area. It picked up again across the parking lot, and since we had nothing but time on our hands, followed that lead. I warned Harley though; if we followed it, there would likely be more rock climbing involved. He remained undeterred. It turned out that I was mostly wrong, and a relatively easy hike, following the edge of the 3-acre rainbow trout haven, to a stone dam constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 1930s.

The original lake and dam were not a CCC venture though. One Steve Mitchell and his crew originally constructed a wooden situation sometime during the early 1900s to serve his mill and the surrounding community with ground corn and ginned cotton. The dam failed, the CCC reconstructed it. They planned to restore the old mill to operational condition as well, but World War II put a stop to that.

The Ruins of Mitchell Mill

Continuing through the ruins of the mill, we found there was a path that led down to it from above, and so chased. It seemed there were only two choices when we reached the end; either return the way we came, or walk the road a half mile back to the car. We chose the latter, but noticed another trail below the road along the way.

We returned to the cave after that, only to find out that all of the remaining tours had just sold out. That was a little bit of a bummer. Harley had never been through a cave, and we were looking forward to cooling off in the damp and dark recesses after all hiking around in the hot and humid environment that is North Central Arkansas in early September. It is not really all that bad; that is, until you start to move around and do stuff. It never really is the heat though, it is the humidity. Either way, hot and sweaty is hot and sweaty.

An individual noted our despair and offered to get us in on the next tour. Unfortunately, the tour was an hour and a half long. It was 4 pm, the tour did not start until 430, and we had promised to be back by 6 pm for supper. If we took the tour, it would be six before we were done, and we still had an hour drive to get back. Words cannot describe the level of appreciation we felt at the offer to get us in to the last sold out tour, but we decided to head back, rather than let our hosts down. I t would give us a reason to come back anyway, and opted for a tour of the little attached museum display instead.

We probably should have gone ahead with the tour. When we returned, it was another hour before we left, and then had some difficulty deciding upon just the right place to feed. Nearly every place we stopped was full of folks with the same notion. It had been a long day for everyone, and crankiness was beginning to fill the air. After doubling back twice, I simply stated that whatever we were eating it was going to be in the path in front of us. It was too! We ended the day around a table at Las Playitas, devouring sustenance of the Mexican sort.

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Further Reading

Gunner Pool Recreation Area - Ozark-St Francis National Forest

Blanchard Springs Recreation Area - Ozark-St Francis National Forest

Blanchard Springs Caverns

A Little Fishing, A Little Paddling

Kayaking on the Little Red River

Floating along the Little Red River in search of Trout

We got an early start on another sunny and clear day along the Little Red. Slightly mired in a minor lack of planning, we probably should have considered our Saturday plans before touring around. Odd, how little difference that seems to make during off time. There is always time.

The original plan was to put in at the dam and float down to Baker’s Ford, which evolved to putting in at that location and going on down to Dripping Springs; both, about a 10 mile journey by water. We were still pondering that possibility when we headed off to breakfast and to gather a few necessitates. Realizing that the day was getting away from us, and that we were going to be fishing along most of the way rather than paddling, we decided to limit the expedition to 5 miles. That changed the question to whether we would put in at Cow Shoals or Baker’s Ford; either way, we were going to need a ride. We decided the best of the options would be the latter, and we would just make our way to Lobo Landing.

Turtle sunning on a log, along the Little Red River

And so the plan came together, and we were on the water by noon. There was nothing particularly significant about the trip. The river is a little insistent about perpetual motion until near the end of Scroncher Shoal, so we followed its bidding only finding a few spots to break into calm water. Just before the next bend and shoal area, it widens and becomes deeper. Indeed, In spite of a couple of other shoal areas shown on the map, by the time the bluffs at Libby Access soar into view, the river is about six feet until crossing Libby Shoal. It immediately deepens again and remains that way all the way to Lobo Landing.

Little Red River

We spent about four hours floating along, attempting to lure our prey. Harley caught one near the end of the journey, but I only caught a few interesting photos. It was a beautiful day for the little trip though, with temperatures in 30s C. The water temperature was likely in the teens, and not conducive to submersion, so we avoided that particular detail. Harley did think it was cute to douse me with a splash of his paddle, to which I replied with one of my own. While it was a bit refreshing in the heat of the day, neither of us was interested in feeling the initial freeze again, and we quickly called a truce.

Blue Heron along the Little Red River

After loading up the kayaks and all the gear, we were beginning to feel the effects only eating a bit of jerky. Suzie’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Pangburn was somewhat on the way, so we stopped a little refreshment from sweet Suzie herself. She is just about the nicest person, but then everyone seems to have a better attitude the further south you go; some even more so. She loaded us up with a burger, hot dog, fries, a root beer float and Harley succumbed to the temptation of the Hot Fudge Sundae. He had been wavering towards the Cold Dog, a concoction devised of a Twinkie split in half, with ice cream, with caramel and chocolate all over. He chickened out at the last minute though.

Spring Park

It had been a good day, and the evening just as good. We dropped in long enough to clean up. A shower is just what you need sometimes to recharge. After some discussion, we agreed to grill up some steaks, after we dropped in on the little show down in Spring Park. The band we had heard briefly the night before was opening for a girl out of Nashville, and we were curious to hear a bit more. We only stayed for about an hour though. Steaks and beers awaited our return, and begged our safe and early return.

US Army Corps of Engineers Map of the Little Red River